April 2005 -
Fall of 2006 is a long way off. Loooong way. And that
really sucks because once you read this preview, you
will want Spore. This preview should have a money
back guarantee because if you can get through to the
end without wanting to play this game right now, you're
just not normal. In fact, if that is the case, you
shouldn't even technically call yourself a gamer from
this point forward.

Spore
is quite possibly the most progressive forward thinking
game ever and if everything turns out the way designer
Will Wright (The Sims...natch!) thinks it will, then
Spore will eat your life up when it's released next
year.

But
wait, I'm getting ahead of myself. You don't even
know what Spore is yet. It's a one-player simulation
game that plays like a multiplayer online game. Yeah,
that's cool right there. Let me explain....

You
start Spore as a single celled organism existing in
a drop of water. Play your cards right and you'll
eventually advance the civilization to the point of
space travel and total anihillation. Sounds familiar,
doesn't it? Let's back up a minute. While playing
the game as a single cell organism you'll be surprised,
perhaps even dismayed, to discover that this wunderkind
of the digitial world, is playing like a garden variety
Pac-Man knock off in 2D. As you gobble up other organisms,
your "character" will eventually lay an
egg, and you will be able to mess with its DNA - which
completely alters the game each time. If you give
that little dude something that allows him to attack
other lifeforms, you will become a dominant force
in nature....and the story of life begins.

Once
you evolve into a multicellular creature, the game
changes to complete 3D and you will leave the confines
of the ocean and be able to explore the world around
you. As the game progresses and your lifeforms evolve,
the game will take on a sim management structure,
which will be familiar to RTS and sim fans. Conflict
will play a major role and you will eventually find
your factions warring with neighboring entities. Keep
playing and Wright promises you'll be given the keys
to explore the universe at large....and blow it up
if you like.

Wright
calls the game a single player MMORPG and the moniker
fits, once he explains exactly how he has arrived
at the label. Once you load your copy of Spore, those
with internet access will be instantly connected to
the hub. Create a cool new life form and it will be
whisked away from you, only to arrive in the creationist
digitial world of some poor dude across the globe,
who was definitely not expecting a fire-breathing
T-Rex with four arms and wings to appear in his game....
We're very excited about that idea and we hope it
actually appears in the final version - having been
once bitten, twice shy thanks to game designers who
promise the world and deliver New Jersey (yes, Fable,
we're talking about you).

Spore
has a great buzz around it and we're definitely awaiting
its release next Fall. Stay tuned for more delicious
details.